Litigation

07/30/2015

It is sad that the many accomplishments of J. Howard Marshall II, an extraordinarily successful business tycoon, attorney and university professor, have been overshadowed by his marriage to Anna Nicole Smith and the nearly twenty years of litigation between their respective estates. But the contrast between the two and the complexity of the legal issues makes for compelling reading.

Smith was a young woman and a former Playboy model. Her husband was far older, and a wealthy investor in Koch Industries in addition to his other business ventures.

Marshall passed away approximately a year before Smith, and the tabloids could not get enough of the story.

When Smith passed away, her estate began seeking to get a larger share of his estate.

In the end, the case was litigated in three different states and made its way to the United States Supreme Court twice.